Rainy days mean a lot of things for College students, but for the men’s and women’s track and field teams, it meant an extra day to prepare for their meet, which was canceled on Saturday and moved to Sunday, April 17.
“The change in date should help with our performances,” head coach Philip Jennings said before the match in an e-mail interview, “as (Sunday) looks to be a much better day with higher temperatures, far less wind and partly sunny skies.”
It certainly did help as the Lions competed at the Greyhound Invitational held at Moravian College.
Senior Kyle Gilroy continued his impressive College career with two NCAA provisional qualifying times in his first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.41 seconds. He also recorded a second-best overall 14.72 seconds in the preliminary heat of the 110-meter hurdles.
He did not compete in the finals because, according to Jennings, “Kyle did not compete in the 110 hurdle final so he could focus on the 400 hurdles … which paid off — we wanted him to get the 110 race in, but getting in the 400-hurdle qualifier was the biggest goal of the day.”
Gilroy added to his accolades by receiving the 2011 Dr. Harold W. Eickhoff Outstanding Senior Male Scholar-Athlete award, which is given to the senior student with the highest GPA each year, according to the Sports Information Desk.
“(Gilroy’s) drive to excel on the track is clearly matched by his focus and work ethic in the classroom,” Jennings said.
Another Lion with an impressive finish was senior Miriam Khan on the women’s side.
Khan took first in the 100 and 200-meter races. She set the meet record in the 200-meter with a time of 24.95. She won the 100-meter race with a time of 12.09. Both of these times were NCAA provisional qualifiers.
“Miriam was last year’s national champion in the 100-meter, so her contributions are not new this year,” Jennings said. “Her 100 time is the second fastest in Division III currently.”
The 4x400 relay team of freshman Micheaux Ferdinand, freshman Emily Kulcyk, sophomore Brielle Doremus and senior Alexandra Tomaselli took third place with 4:06.92, an ECAC qualifying time.
The men’s side produced similar results.
Freshman Dominic Tasco and senior Dennie Waite placed second and third respectively in the 800-meter race. Tasco ran a 1:54.34, and Waite recorded a 1:54.41. Both were ECAC qualifying times.
“We had a very good meet overall, particularly in the middle distance and distance events where the team is really starting to round into form,” Jennings said. “While the weather was good overall, the high winds made things difficult for some of the field events, particularly jumps, and the long sprints.”
The Lions continue their season on Friday and Saturday at the Larry Ellis Invitational hosted by Princeton University.
Caroline Russomanno can be reached at russoma4@tcnj.edu.
